BELFAST glamour model Laura Lacole is reaching for the stars. Space bunny Laura is aiming to transform herself from blonde bombshell to space cadet - and she needs YOUR help to do it.
She is hoping to hitch a ride on the Lynx Space Shuttle and become Ulster's first model astronaut. To make her dream come true she needs to win enough votes to secure a place in the top 200 candidates who will compete against each other at a National Space Camp.
The top four are beamed off to Global Space Camp in Florida where they will take on international candidates in a mental and physical challenges.
"Lynx want to send people to space, so obviously me being a space cadet, I want to be that person!" said Laura. "Space needs sexy!" The 23-year-old beauty has already launched a YouTube campaign to win votes and has even picked out her own unique space suit - a teeny silver bikini.
Inspire
"I'm sure I'll have to wear something a bit more substantial if I get to go to space, but it'll do for now." But she insists there is a serious side to her venture.
"I want to go to space because it's a dream of mine, but I also want to inspire young people to have an interest in science. "We need someone young, fun and sexy to go to space."
And she is also aiming to fire herself into the record books as the youngest person ever to go into space. "The youngest person to have gone was Russian spaceman Gherman Titov aged 26, so I would break the record at age 23."
And she is determined to drag the image of space travel away from the nerdy images of the past.
"I have to say a couple of previous astronauts weren't too bad on the eye, but we really do need someone to fly the sexy flag and rebrand space exploration. "Space needs sexy! or should I say, space needs an astronaughty!"
You can watch Laura's video by searching YouTube and to vote to send her into space you can log on to www.LauraLacole.com